Albus potter and the Unexpected
by Killer99
Summary: Albus Severus Potter is ready to start his first year at Hogwarts. He is excited and a little bit nervous about winding up in Slytherin. Albus thought that his parents told him everything about Voldemort and the Second War, but after starting Hogwarts, Albus realizes that they left out something big. One of Albus's friends is keeping a secret from him as well, and he's determine
1. Chapter 1

Albus waved to his parents and little sister, Lily, until he could no longer see them. "Well, we'd better go find a compartment," he said to his cousin, Rose, who was standing next to him. Rose nodded her head and they started walking down the train corridor. It was a bit hard to walk on a moving train and Albus kept stumbling. The train rounded a corner and he fell into a rather mean looking older student.

"Watch where you're going, midget," the boy said as Albus and Rose quickly ran away from him.

"Better find a compartment quick", Albus said. He continued to walk along the corridor, looking into each compartment as he passed. He spotted a lot of his other cousins, but didn't really want to interrupt whatever they were doing with their friends. Albus also saw a few people who looked vaguely familiar, including the Jordan-Bell twins. Scorpius Malfoy was sitting in one of the compartments with a few other boys, but Albus definitely did not want to sit with them.

Albus peeked into the next compartment and saw that there was a rather pale boy sitting on one of the seats. He seemed very small and his face was quite scarred. There was also an older girl, who looked to be about Victoire's age, sitting next to the boy. She looked vaguely familiar. Both of them had blue eyes and blond hair. They looked friendly enough. "How about this one?" he said to Rose.

Rose glanced into the compartment for a few seconds and replied, "Yeah, looks good to me." She opened the door and the two cousins walked in.

"Can we sit here?" Albus asked.

"Sure," the boy responded as he gestured to the seat opposite him. "My name's Matt, Matt Eckerton."

"I'm his sister, Amy. I'm a seventh year, Matt's just starting," the girl told him.

"Hi, I'm Albus Potter," Albus said, "And this is my cousin, Rose Weasley," he gestured to Rose. "We're both first years."

"Hi," Rose waved. Rose sat down on the seat across from Amy and Albus sat down across from Matt.

"That's where I know you two from! I knew I'd seen you somewhere. My best friend is your cousin, Victoire. I think I've seen you at her house before," Amy explained.

"Probably. I think I've seen you, too," Rose responded. Albus nodded his head in agreement.

Matt's eyes opened wide as he stared at Albus. "So, you're Harry Potter's son? You know, you do look a whole lot like him. You've got his eyes and everything."

"Yeah, I know," Albus said shortly, he often got sick of people telling him this.

"I bet you two hear loads of stories of the battle. My parents have told me some, but they don't know all the details, just the bits that are in books. You see, we're from Australia. We moved hear when I was about eight," Matt looked nervously at his sister.

"Yeah, I know all about the battle. My parents didn't tell me the full story until I turned eleven. Same with Rose, our parents told us at the same time. They didn't want to scare us, but thought we ought to know before we went to Hogwarts, since most people there will have heard all about it. But my parents don't talk about it much. Guess it brings back bad memories," Albus told Matt before changing the subject. He really didn't enjoy people constantly asking him about his dad. "So, how'd you get all those scars?"

"I'm, um, er, very clumsy," Matt glanced at Amy and started to stare absentmindedly out the window.

"Oh, that's ok. A friend of my parents' was very clumsy, kind of a problem since she was an Auror. But she was killed in the battle at Hogwarts. Along with her husband. My dad is their son, Teddy's, godfather, so we see a lot of him," Albus told Matt.

Matt just continued staring out the window. Albus didn't know what to say, he hoped he hadn't said anything to bother Matt. "So, do you have any other siblings?" Albus asked.

Matt turned away from the window. "Nope, just me and Amy. I know you've got siblings. I've read about you and them in books. A brother James and a sister Lily, right? And I think you've got a little brother, right, Rose?"

Albus just looked at Matt. It was a bit strange having other people know all about you. He supposed this was what it was like for his father when he went to Hogwarts. "Yup, James is a second year and Lily's just nine, so she's not here yet."

"Yeah, my brother, Hugo, is nine, too," Rose told him. Rose's family was mentioned in numerous books as well, although not nearly as many as Albus's.

At that moment, the compartment door opened and James walked in with two of their cousins, Ben and Cedric, and their friend Nathan. "How's it going, little bro?" James asked. "Still worrying about being in Slytherin?"

"James, shut up!" Albus responded, blushing a little.

"Oh, I see you've met someone, what's your name?" James asked Matt.

"Matt Eckerton."

"Hi," the boys responded.

"Oh, and hi Amy," Ben added.

"Hi, Ben. How are you?" Amy asked.

"I'm good. So this is your brother?," Ben said. Ben was Victoire's brother, so he had seen Amy loads of times.

"Yeah, Matt's just starting his first year," Amy told him.

"Good luck with the sorting, then, Matt," Ben grinned at Matt.

"Ah, well, we best be off, the trolley's on it's way to our compartment, wouldn't want to miss that!" James said as he walked out of the compartment with his friends.

Matt stared at Albus. "You think you're going to be in Slytherin?"

"No," Albus said, turning more crimson.

"So, what house do you want to be in?"

"Gryffindor, just like my parents," Albus told him, "And James and all my cousins are in Gryffindor, too. So were most of my aunts and uncles."

"I hope you get in, then," Matt said, "I'm hoping for Gryffindor, too. Amy's in Gryffindor."

"Hope you're there, too."

"I'm also hoping for Gryffindor," Rose announced, "Although Ravenclaw looks nice, too."

"Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad," Matt agreed, "That's where all the smart kids go, right?"

"In essence, yeah," Amy told him.

The compartment door opened again. Another boy walked in, along with a scared looking girl. The boy was dark skinned, very tall, with brown hair and dark eyes. The girl was quite a bit shorter than the boy, with long, wavy, honey colored hair and light brown eyes.

"Can we sit in here?" the boy asked. "A bunch of Slytherins kicked us out of our compartment."

"Sure," Albus and Matt responded.

"Good. I'm John Brickston and this is Amanda Tagger. We're both first years," the boy told Albus, Rose, Matt, and Amy.

"Hi. I'm Albus Potter, this is my cousin Rose Weasley, and that's Matt Eckerton, we're also first years," Albus responded, "And she's Amy, Matt's sister." Albus pointed to Amy, who waved.

"Wow!" John exclaimed. "My dad said you'd be starting this year, Albus." Amanda still hadn't said anything.

Albus just smiled a little and his cheeks turned redder yet.

"Well, I think I'll go find Victoire," Amy grabbed her bag and got up, "You going to be ok, Matt?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Matt told her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you can go. See you later," Matt waved as his sister left the  
compartment.

"And you're Rose Weasley?" John asked. Rose nodded. "I've heard of you, too," John continued. "Your family owns Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, right?"

"Well, it's really my Uncle George who owns it. He's Albus's uncle, too. But my dad works there a lot. My Uncle George opened it with my Uncle Fred after they left school. They're twins. But Uncle Fred died in the Battle at Hogwarts, so after that my dad helped Uncle George with it," Rose explained.

John grinned, "I love that place. So does my dad. He's always buying me stuff from there. Mum's not always happy about it since I'm always using the stuff to pull pranks on my little sisters."

Albus, Rose, and Matt laughed. "I've done that quite a bit, too," Albus commented. "But now that Lily's a bit older it's harder to pull pranks on her."

"Anything from the trolley?" A witch had appeared in the doorway with a trolley laden with delicious sweets.

"Definitely!" John shouted, as he jumped up from his seat and ran out into the corridor. Albus smiled. John reminded him of James. Albus, Rose, Matt, and Amanda followed John. All five returned with their arms full of food.

"So, what is all this stuff?" Amanda spoke for the first time since entering the compartment.

"Well, you have your cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans," John explained, as he pointed to the various items. "Just be careful with the beans."

"Why?" Amanda asked as she tried a greenish colored bean. "Ugh!" she exclaimed. "Bogey!" Amanda spat out the bean and it landed on John. Albus, Rose, and Matt broke out in fits of laughter.

"They mean every flavor!" Matt shouted. "So, you must be Muggle-born?"

"Yes," Amanda answered. "My mum is a teacher and my dad's a doctor."

"What's a doctor?" John asked.

"A muggle Healer," Matt explained. "My mum's Muggle born, but she's a witch, and my dad's a wizard. He works at the Ministry, in the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures," Matt told everyone. "And my mum doesn't work, but she's thinking of getting a job now that I've started school."

"Oh, my parents are a witch and wizard. My family's mostly all magical, except for a few Muggle aunts and uncles and cousins. My dad is a Healer and my mum stays at home with my younger sisters, I've got three of them. They're nine, six, and five. But before I was born she worked at the Ministry," John explained. "How about your parents, Rose?"

"Well, like I said before, my dad works at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but he's also an Auror, which is a Dark Wizard catcher. And my mum works at the Ministry. She's the one who started all the House-Elf rights stuff."

"Wow, your dad's an Auror, too? That's bloody brilliant!" John grinned.

"What do your parents do, Albus?" Amanda asked.

Albus was a little shocked at this question, since the whole magical world knew about his parents, but of course Amanda didn't. "Well, my dad's an Auror. And my mum's a sportswriter for the Daily Prophet."

"Yeah, Albus's parents are famous!" John shouted. "Tell Amanda, won't you, Albus?" Albus suspected John secretly wanted to hear all about the Potters directly from him, even though he'd probably read all about them in books.

And so, Albus, with a little help from Rose, told the story about how Lord Voldemort had killed his grandparents and tried to kill his dad, but his dad survived. He told them all about his parents' years at Hogwarts, about the Horcruxes, and how Lord Voldemort met his downfall.

All three students stared at Albus and Rose with their mouths wide open. Matt and John had obviously heard the whole story before, but never this accurate an account. Amanda was practically in tears.

"Blimey," John let out a low whistle, "Your dad's amazing."

"Yeah," Matt agreed.

Albus blushed, "I guess, but I just think of him as my dad."

The group of five first years spent the rest of the journey discussing what they knew was true about Hogwarts and what their siblings and cousins had told them about the ancient school. Everyone agreed that the Giant Squid did not eat a different first year each year while they crossed the lake on boats, despite what Albus and Rose's cousin, Fred, had said.

"Well, you'd better change into your robes," Rose said an hour or so after the sky turned dark. Rose had been wearing her robes since before she'd even gotten on the train. The four other students changed into their robes quietly.

Once the train arrived at Hogsmeade, the five students got off and looked around.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, this way!" a man shouted.

Albus and Rose ran up to him. "Hagrid!" Albus shouted.

"'ello, Albus! 'Ello, Rose!" Hagrid responded. "Ready ter go? Here's a boat for yeh." Albus hurried into the boat, followed by John, and Matt, who were all gaping at Hagrid. Rose and Amanda got into a nearby boat and were joined by the Jordan-Bell twins. Another tall boy quickly joined Albus in his boat.

"You know him?" John pointed at Hagrid with an amazed look on his face.

"Yep, he's a family friend," Albus answered.

"I've never seen someone so big," Matt commented.

"Well, he's half-giant," Albus told him.

"That's so cool!" John grinned.

The boats started moving magically across the lake once everyone was in them. They sailed for what must have been at least a half hour before arriving at Hogwarts. Once they got there, Hagrid lead them into the castle and up a flight of stairs. The castle was incredible. It was big and intimidating looking on the outside. But once Albus stepped inside, it seemed warm and inviting, like he was home.

The first years came to a stop in front of strict looking woman. "Good evening. I'm Professor Patil, I teach transfiguration. In a moment, you will be able to join your fellow students in the Great Hall for dinner, but beforehand, you will need to be sorted into your houses. They are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin," she said Slytherin with a note of disgust in her voice. "While you're here, you will be able to earn points for your house for any achievements. Likewise, any misbehavior will cause points to be taken away. At the end of the year, the house with the most points earns the House Cup. Now, follow me, please."


	2. Chapter 2

The students followed Professor Patil into a large dining room. The ceiling looked just like the night sky outside. "It's enchanted to look like the sky," Rose whispered to Albus. The older students at all four of the tables were whispering to each other and pointing wildly at Albus. Once the first years reached the head table, Professor Patil turned around. The older students were still whispering, and they seemed to be doing so more loudly by the minute. Albus looked out at them and then inched his way to the back of the group so no one could see him. Sometimes, he hated how much he looked like his father.

"Quiet, please," Professor Patil announced, and the students immediately stopped talking. An old, patched hat sat on a stool and all of a sudden it broke out in song. A few of the first years were quite shocked at this and jumped back. Once it stopped, Professor Patil started talking again. "When I call your name, you will come forward and try on the Sorting Hat."

"Asterley, Elaine." A short, blond haired girl ran forward and tried on the hat. "Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted.

"Brickston, John." John ran up and jammed the hat on his head. It was only there for a second when it shouted out, "Gryffindor!" John let out a loud whoop and ran for the Gryffindor table, where he was patted on the back by a few older Gryffindors.

"Creevey, Janie." She was also made a Gryffindor.

"Eckerton, Matthew." The headmaster suddenly sat up straight in his seat and stared as Matt tried on the hat and was made a Gryffindor. The headmaster relaxed again. 'That was strange,' Albus thought. Matt walked calmly over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to John.

"Eubert, Carter." Albus recognized the other boy from their boat as he walked up to the Sorting Hat. He put it on and a few seconds later it shouted out, "Ravenclaw!"

A few more students were sorted and then Professor Patil called "Malfoy, Scorpius." Albus watched as a blond haired boy with a smug look on his face was made a Slytherin before the hat even touched his head.

"Potter, Albus." A whisper went through the crowd. The headmaster had sat up straight again. Albus froze. He couldn't do this. What if he was made Slytherin in front of all these people? All these people who expected him to be in Gryffindor? "Albus Potter?" Professor Patil said again. Someone pushed Albus forward. He walked up to the stool and put on the hat.

"Ah, yes, another Potter. I see it all here. The bravery, yes, yes, it's all here," the hat told Albus.

"Not Slytherin," Albus thought, "Anything but Slytherin."

"Oh, oh, this sounds familiar," said the hat, "Yes, indeed, just like your father. And just like your father, Slytherin would help you achieve greatness, but if you insist, Gyffindor!"

Albus breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped off the stool and ran to sit across from John and Matt at the Gryffindor table. Albus didn't even pay attention to the next few sortings. He was just so happy to be in Gryffindor.

Albus next looked up when Professor Patil called out "Tagger, Amanda." Albus watched as Amanda cautiously put on the hat. "Gryffindor!" it shouted. Amanda ran to sit down across from John, with a smile on her face. Only one student was left to be sorted.

"Weasley, Rose." Rose was made a Gryffindor before the hat had even touched her head. 'Just like how James was sorted,' Albus thought. It never hesitated for them. But it had for him. Albus stared glumly at his golden plate.

The headmaster rose from his chair. "Welcome back to Hogwarts to all returning students and welcome to those who are new. For those of you who don't know, I'm Professor Kendrick, headmaster of Hogwarts. Now, I know the older students have noticed we are short one staff member," the headmaster gestured to the empty chair beside him. "But I shall inform you about that later. Right now it is time to eat." And the golden plates filled with food.

Albus stared in amazement as the food appeared in front of him. He started piling his plate with as much as would fit. John was using not only his plate, but an empty one that he found as well.

"This is amazing!" John exclaimed. "I might actually get full here! I hope all the meals are like this."

"Yeah, it all looks very good," Albus said. Albus started eating his food and couldn't help but overhear a conversation between two older students.

"I wonder where Professor Torro is? It's not usual for a teacher to miss the start of term feast," a brown haired girl asked the boy sitting next to her.

"Yeah, quite strange, really. I hope he's all right. Maybe he's ill or something?" the boy responded.

"What does he teach?" John said, interrupting the two older students.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," the girl told him. The two older students continued their conversation, but in lower voices so John couldn't overhear him.

*********

After the students had eaten their fill of dinner, the golden plates became clean for a moment, and then dessert appeared. Albus immediately helped himself to his favorite, treacle tart. While he was eating, he heard a scream coming from his left. A ghostly head had appeared right out of Amanda's plate.

"Oh, so sorry to have scared you!" the ghost said as he glided out of Amanda's plate. "I'm Sir Nicholas."

"You're Nearly Headless Nick!" John shouted. "Great to meet you. Can I see you pull off your head?"

Amanda looked like she might faint, but Nick grudgingly pulled on his ear and his head came partially off.

"Wow! That's bloody brilliant!" John exclaimed. "Did you see that, Albus?"

"Yeah," Albus responded. He didn't think it was as neat as John did, and was beginning to wish he hadn't eaten nearly as much treacle tart.

The headmaster got to his feet again as the golden plates became clean once more. "Is everyone satisfied? Good. Now, I have a few start of term notices. The village of Hogsmeade is out of bounds for first and second years, as well as the Forbidden Forest to everyone. As always, stay away from the Whomping Willow. Mr. Filch has added a few new items to the list of forbidden things and if you wish to inspect the list, it is pinned to Mr. Filch's door.

"Now, as many of you have noticed, Professor Torro is not with us tonight. I regret to inform you that he has been discovered dead only a few hours ago," Professor Kendrick stated with a sad expression on his face. There was a sharp intake of breath from the students. "Cause of death has not been determined. Until I can find a suitable replacement, Defense Against the Dark Arts classes will not take place. Now, it is time to go to your dormitories. Classes begin tomorrow and you will need to be well rested. First years, please follow a prefect to your common rooms."

Albus got up and looked for his cousin, Georgia, for she was one of the Gryffindor prefects. Albus found her, and he, John, Matt, Rose, and Amanda all followed her up to the common room. As they walked through the castle, there was a whole lot of whispering about Professor Torro.

"He wasn't even that old," one student said.

"Yeah, and wasn't DADA the subject that was jinxed years back?" another responded.

Albus and the others arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. Georgia told her the password, Cornish Pixie, and everyone walked inside.

"Boys to the right, girls to the left. I hope everyone has a good night," Georgia told the first years.

Albus walked up the spiral staircase to his dormitory with Matt, John, and two other boys Albus had not met yet. Albus thought their names were Bilius and Ethan. Albus was rather quiet while he got into bed. All the other boys were laughing and talking. But Albus couldn't shake that he was considered for Slytherin. He was also a bit nervous about the fact that a professor had died. That didn't happen often, did it? Albus was still thinking about these things as he drifted off to sleep.

******

When Harry, Ginny, and Lily walked back into their house after taking James and Albus to Platform 9 3/4, Harry noticed an owl waiting on the windowsill. He walked over to it and opened the letter.

Dear Harry,  
I would appreciate it if you would come to Hogwarts later tonight, around 9pm.  
I have something to ask you, and would prefer to do it in person, rather than by letter.  
Please return this owl with your answer, thank you.  
From,  
Fabius Kendrick

'That's strange,' thought Harry. Surely one of his boys couldn't be in trouble already? "Ginny, I'm going to have to go to Hogwarts tonight. Fabius has requested that I meet with him. He hasn't told me why," Harry told his wife.

"Okay, just let me know before you leave. That is strange, though. Why wouldn't he have met with you before term started? I hope James and Albus aren't in trouble."

*********

Later that night, Harry Apparated into Hogsmeade. It was a chilly night, but there was not a cloud in the sky. The stars and moon shone brightly. Harry thought the students must be in their common rooms by now, judging from the time. 'That's good, Albus and James have no idea I'm here', thought Harry. He walked along the path and soon found himself walking through the big oak doors into the Great Hall. Kendrick was waiting for him there.

"Good evening, Harry," Fabius greeted.

"How are you? What's this about? Are James and Albus okay?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Oh, don't worry, they're fine. But I would prefer if we discuss what we need to discuss in my office," Fabius responded. Harry followed Fabius up to the stone gargoyle. It leaped aside as Fabius murmured, "Woolen coat."

Harry walked into the familiar circular office. He saw all the various possessions that Dumbledore had left to the school. He also noticed the sleeping portraits of previous headmasters. Only one was awake, the one of Albus Dumbledore. Harry smiled as he saw him.

"Please, sit down," Professor Kendrick said as he gestured to a chair in front of his desk. Harry sat. "I have some bad news. Professor Torro was found dead in his house this morning."

"What?! How did he die? He wasn't very old," Harry exclaimed. Professor Torro had been teaching DADA since Hogwarts reopened after the battle.

"I know, shocking, and very, very sad. His cause of death was Avada Kedarva, but I didn't tell the students this. It does worry me. It is quite suspicious. Especially since DADA was the subject that Voldemort jinxed."

"But he's gone! I saw him die, I was there!" Harry shouted. "This can't be the work of him, can it?" Harry knew there would be an investigation awaiting him when he returned to work the next day. He had taken the day off to see James and Albus onto the Hogwarts Express, and hadn't heard a thing about Professor Torro's death until just now.

"Of course not. But there are still Death Eaters out there. I have reason to believe that one of them killed Torro and the Minister agrees with me. But onto the reason I have summoned you here.

"We are, of course, in need of a new DADA teacher, and I was wondering if you would like the job. I think it would be a good idea to have an Auror here after recent events and you are the ideal candidate," Kendrick told Harry.

"Me? A teacher? Well, I can't say I've never thought about it. It would be nice to be back at Hogwarts. But what about Ginny and Lily? I can't leave them."

"Of course. And feel free to leave every weekend to spend time with them. Neville Longbottom does the same thing to visit Hannah," Kendrick explained.

"I guess I could do it, but only if Ginny is okay with it. I tell you what, I'll Apparate home tonight and ask her. You'll have your answer in the morning, okay?" Harry asked.

"That's fine. I'll see you in the morning, then. Good night."

"'Night," Harry said as he walked out of the office.

As Harry left the castle, he pondered the death of Torro. Harry had only met Torro a few times, and he was not particularly close to him, but his death still troubled Harry. Was this another random Death Eater attack? There had been a few of them throughout the years after the battle. But why was Torro killed? He didn't even live in Britain during the time of Voldemort, he lived in France then. Why were the Death Eaters going after Hogwarts teachers? Harry had a nagging feeling that this wasn't like the other deaths, this had significance. Surely, Voldemort couldn't return? He was dead. There were no more Horcruxes. Harry kept telling himself this, but he still felt very uneasy about it. The headmaster and the Minister felt the same way. Why else would they want an Auror at Hogwarts? Of course, Harry was the one who defeated Voldemort, so who else knew more about DADA?

Harry found himself back in Hogsmeade and he Disapparated. He appeared a moment later in his backyard and he walked into the house. It was time to tell Ginny what had happened. Luckily, Lily would be in bed.

*********

Early the next morning, Harry Apparated into Hogsmeade once again. This time he had his old Hogwarts trunk with him, along with a large, black owl named Harvey. This is familiar, he thought. Harry wheeled his trunk over to Hogsmeade station, where he would wait for a carriage to take him to the castle. Ginny had said yes right away. She felt that Harry's presence in the school would protect her sons. Ginny was also quite worried about the death of Torro.

The carriage arrived and Harry loaded his trunk into it. 'This sure is strange,' he thought. Back at Hogwarts, once again. It kind of felt good, comforting in a way. Hogwarts had always felt like home to Harry. But he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had about Torro's death. The carriage gave a lurch, and the thestrals pulled Harry up to the school.


	3. Chapter 3

Get up, Albus! Get up!" Albus awoke with a start and saw John's face looking down at him.

"Huh? Wha's going on?" Albus said sleepily.

"First day of lessons! Let's go down to breakfast," John responded, excitedly. He was bouncing around the room, waking up all his fellow Gryffindors.

Albus got up and put on his robes. "Okay, I'm ready,"

"Great! Bilius and Ethan are up too. But I can't get Matt up. He sleeps like a log," John said as he shook Matt some more. Matt finally got up and put his robes on.

The five Gryffindor first year boys met the girls in the common room. Rose, Amanda, Janie Creevey, and the Jordan-Bell twins. Albus knew he'd met the twins a few times, but couldn't remember their names They introduced themselves as Karina and Marina. They were identical with long black hair and blue eyes. The first years walked down to the Great Hall together, only getting lost once.

When Albus walked into the Great Hall, he glanced up at the head table and his jaw dropped. He stopped walking and an older Hufflepuff bumped into him.

"Sorry," she said as she walked past.

Albus didn't pay any attention to her. He continued to stare at the staff table. Sitting next to the headmaster, was his father. Albus shook his head and ran over to the Gryffindor table, where his fellow first years had already sat down.

"James! James!" Albus shouted, "Look who's sitting next to Professor Kendrick! Isn't that Dad? What's he doing here? He doesn't teach here!"

James was staring at Harry. "Yeah, I know. Funny how he never mentioned it. But I guess he must be the new DADA teacher. All the other teachers are there."

"Honestly, James! He couldn't have told us yet. Torro just died yesterday. Obviously, Kendrick asked him last night. It was only a matter of time, wasn't it? I mean, he's got to be the most qualified wizard for the job, right?" Georgia had sat down next to James and talked some sense into him.

"I suppose," James said as he started to eat his eggs.

"Here are your schedules!" Neville Longbottom had appeared near the Gryffindor table.

Albus took his schedule from him and looked at it. He had DADA right after breakfast, then Charms, and after lunch he had double Herbology.

"Looks like a decent schedule," John said, "Should be interesting having your dad as a teacher, Albus! I can't wait! I've got so many questions for him."

"Yeah, should be wonderful," Albus said glumly as he dug into his waffles. Truthfully, Albus did not want his dad teaching at Hogwarts. With his dad here, Albus would be even more famous than usual. He did not like the staring eyes and the constant questions about his dad.

**********

After breakfast, the Gryffindors headed to the DADA classroom, with John leading the way. Albus hung back with Matt, who was going pretty slow.

"You okay, Matt?" Albus asked, "You look kind of sick. You want to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"No, I'll be fine," Matt replied with a yawn, "Guess I didn't get to sleep until late, too nervous about lessons."

When they arrived at the classroom, Albus ran and took the table in the back. Matt and Amanda followed him. John hesitated, apparently torn with joining his new friends and sitting up front. Finally, he, too, went and sat in the back.

"Why are we sitting back here?" John asked.

"Cause it's my dad, John. How would you like it if your dad taught at Hogwarts?" Albus said in a rude tone. John didn't say anything.

At that moment, another group of students came into the room. They were Slytherins. Scorpius Malfoy was leading them.

"Great, we're with the Slytherins," John whispered to Matt, "Hope they're not going to ruin everything." John was about to launch into a tirade about Slytherins, but Harry walked in.

"Good morning," Harry said as he walked to the front desk, "I'm Professor Potter." A few of the girls in front giggled. "I'll start by taking attendance." Harry ran down the attendance sheet. Everyone was there.

"Please open your books to page 5," Harry told the students.

"Professor? Can you tell us about the battle? Please?" one of the twins asked, Albus didn't know which one.

Harry sighed. "Well, I really don't like to talk about it much. But I suppose I could. I know you won't let it rest until I do," he smiled and looked at Albus, "I know my own kids, nieces, and nephews kept asking me until I told them."

Albus sunk lower in his chair. John was sitting straight up, staring at Harry, hardly blinking. Amanda and Matt were also paying close attention.

Harry's story about the battle lasted the whole period. The bell rang shortly after Harry finished.

"Please read chapter one for next time, since we didn't get a chance to cover it in class," Harry told the students as they left. "And Albus, could you stay for a moment?"

"You guys go on ahead," Albus told his friends, "I'll meet you in Charms." Albus approached his father's desk after all the other students had left.

"Hi, Al, how was the Sorting? I see you did make it into Gryffindor. I knew you would," Harry said with a proud look on his face.

"Yes, I did," Albus said, his eyes brimming with tears as he remembered what the hat had told him, "But it wanted to put me in Slytherin!" Albus started crying and he couldn't stop. "I told it to put me in Gryffindor, that's the only reason it did!"

Harry quickly shut the door before responding. "I told you at the station that it did that to me, too."

"But that's cause you were a Horcrux!" Albus sobbed, "I'm not a Horcrux, so why should I have done well in Slytherin? It put Rose in Gryffindor before it even touched her head. And James said it did that with him, too."

"Yes, I know, but everyone's different. It means that you have qualities of many different houses. It doesn't mean you should be in Slytherin. The hat put you in Gryffindor because you wanted it to. A great man once told me 'it is our choices that show who we really are, far more than our abilities'. Albus Dumbledore was that man. He told me that when I was wondering the same thing you're wondering right now. You chose to be in Gryffindor, which makes you very different from the Slytherins. Don't worry about it," Harry explained, as he drew Albus into a hug.

"O-k-kay," Albus stuttered, "J-just, d-don't tell J-James."

"Don't worry, I won't. James doesn't even know that the hat considered putting me in Slytherin," Harry confided, "Now, I think you should be off to your next class. And don't worry about me teaching here. I'll treat you just like the other students, detentions and all."

Albus laughed. "Well, you don't have to do that."

"See you later, Al."

"Bye, Dad."

**********

Albus was a bit more cheerful for the rest of the day. He thoroughly enjoyed double Herbology. He had known Professor Longbottom since he was born, and Albus was very interested in magical plants. Charms, however, wasn't as enjoyable. The Charms professor, Professor Washburn was not very nice, and for some reason he seemed to have something against Gryffindor.

Soon enough, dinner came, and right when Albus walked into the Great Hall, James came running over to him.

"So, how was having Dad as a teacher?" James asked, breathlessly.

"You know, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Albus said, while sitting down and grabbing the nearest bowl of potatoes. "He spent the whole period telling everyone about the battle because he figured no one would leave him alone until he did."

"Sounds familiar!" James laughed, "Remember when we kept bugging him about it when I was 10? And then he said he'd tell us the whole story the summer before our first year of Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised he was so willing to tell the story. You know how he hates talking about it."

"I know, but I suppose it's better for everyone to hear it sooner rather than later, and now Dad can get on to teaching," James explained as he shoved his mouth with chicken, "Should be pretty cool having him teach, he knows so much DADA."

"Hey, Albus!" John shouted to Albus as he ran over to the Gryffindor table. Matt sat down on Albus's other side.

"Hi John, Matt," Albus said, passing them the pumpkin juice.

"Wow, this is just as good as last night!" John exclaimed as he piled his plate high with food, "I could definitely get used to this."

"What? Did your mum starve you?" Albus joked.

"'Course not. But she didn't make as much variety," John explained. He turned to Matt. "You okay? You look kind of pale."

That was an understatement. Matt looked like he was about to pass out in the potatoes. He hadn't touched any of the food and his golden plate was still empty. Matt was leaning his head on his hand and was yawning a lot. "I'm all right, I guess, just tired."

Albus and John eyed him warily. "You sure?" Albus asked.

"Yeah, I'm just not hungry tonight. I'll be fine."

At that moment, the headmaster stood up. "If I could have your attention for just a bit, I have some more announcements." The room immediately fell silent. "Thank you. Now, as many of you have noticed, I did have success in securing a new DADA teacher and I would like to introduce him. This is Professor Potter." Kendrick gestured to Harry. "Now, I know many of you will have questions for him when you have your first DADA lesson, but I ask you not to pester him. He will tell you what he wants to, and nothing more. I would also like to tell you that if you want to try out for your house Quidditch team, please give your name to your head of house. That is all. Thank you." Kendrick sat back down again and proceeded to talk to Harry.

"Well, I'm trying out for Seeker this year!" James announced to the whole Gryffindor table, "I've been down to the Pitch practicing on my Firebolt during lunch."

"Good luck, James," Albus told him, "Dad'll be proud if you make the team."

"I sure hope I do. It'll be great having him watch the games."

Albus turned to John. "You finished? We should probably get started on that homework."

John groaned, "Yeah, I suppose. You gonna come, Matt?"

Matt looked up from his plate. "Sure." The three boys started walking back up to the Common room, with Matt lagging behind.

"Matt, are you sure you're ok? You're going pretty slow," Albus asked, with a nervous look on his face. "I think you should probably go to the hospital wing.

Matt looked out the window. "I suppose you're probably right. You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you back in the Common room."

"No, we're going to take you. You look ready to collapse," John insisted. They all trekked back down the stairs and to the Hospital Wing. When they got there, Madam Pomfrey was right by the door.

"Matt! Come here, you look dreadful," she said, grabbing his shoulder and leading him to the bed, "Thanks for bringing him, boys, you can leave now." Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the room.

"You know, it almost looked like she was waiting for him," Albus said as he walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, and she knew his name. That's odd. I don't think he's been there yet," John stated, "I wonder if he gets sick often? Or maybe he gets hurt a lot, he's got loads of scars."

"I know. I asked him about them on the train, before you came in. He said he was clumsy and quickly changed the subject."

"Well, I'm sure he'll tell us about it when he's ready," John reasoned, "Cornish Pixie." The portrait opened and the two boys walked into the common room. They settled down to doing their homework with Amanda, Rose, Janie, Bilius, Ethan, and the twins. After a few hours, Albus bid them good night.

He walked up to his dormitory, changed into his pajamas, and climbed into bed. He pondered his lessons and the rest of his day. Albus was happy that having his dad there wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. But why did Professor Washburn dislike him and the other Gryffindors so much? And was Matt okay? He still hadn't returned to the common room. As Albus was worrying about Matt, he drifted off to sleep. Just after he drifted off, the Shrieking Shack shrieked for the first time in decades.


	4. Chapter 4

_Harry was in the Great Hall. Ropes bound him to the Headmaster's chair. His scar was searing in pain. Blood was pouring down his arms as he struggled against the restraints. He opened his eyes and glanced around, looking for his wand. There it was, lying uselessly halfway across the room. All around him, other people were bound to the other professor's chairs, they were surrounding Harry in a circle. A cloaked figure was circling around the outside of the circle, while other cloaked figures stood stationary around the room. Bodies lay in pools of blood on the floor._

Harry glanced around at the other people bound to the chairs. The person directly across from him had long red hair. Harry screamed. "NO! Ginny!" He looked at the other people. "James! Albus! Lily! Take me instead, not the kids!"

The hooded figure looked up and entered the circle. He stood directly in front of Harry. "Well, well, someone's decided to regain his consciousness. As you see, the rest of them didn't fair too well without you. Most are dead. But I've saved your dear family for last. I will torture them and kill them. And then, I shall kill you. At last, I've waited so long. You should have known you couldn't kill me." Voldemort rounded on the smallest child tied to a chair.

"Crucio!" he shouted.

"NO! Do it to me instead! Lily!" Harry screamed. His scar started to hurt even worse, it burned so bad he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.  
Harry awoke with a start. He was covered in sweat and his heart was beating fast. His hand automatically went to his scar, but he was not in any pain. He shakily got out of bed and went to the window.

'Will it never end?' he thought. The nightmare kept returning, but why? It was always the same one. It had been going on ever since the last battle. Only before he had kids, the people surrounding him were Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna. As soon as James was born, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna disappeared. Once Albus was born, he appeared too. Same with Lily.

Harry had no idea what the dreams meant, and neither did anyone else. Harry could think of only one person who may have been able to explain it, Dumbledore. However, as soon as Harry had a few of these dreams, he had gone to see the portrait in Dumbledore's office. He was only 18 then. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had no useful explanation. Since Harry was no longer a Horcrux, he couldn't possibly be seeing into Voldemort's thoughts. Especially since Voldemort was dead. But the dreams continued.

Tonight's dream had been more vivid than any of the past ones. Maybe it was because Harry had spent all day reliving the horrific scenes from his childhood to various DADA classes. He wished he hadn't done that now. Oh, how he regretted it. But he'd have to put up with it the rest of the week, seeing as it wouldn't be fair not to tell the other students.

Harry walked away from the window. He slowly walked into the corridor. His whole body was clammy. He needed a sleeping draught. He'd been relying on these more and more as time went on. 'I really should learn how to brew them myself,' he laughed to himself.

Walking through the corridors at night brought back many memories. He still felt like he was disobeying the rules, even though he was now a professor. It seemed like Snape was right around the corner waiting to catch him doing something wrong. Harry climbed the stairs to the hospital wing. He hated to wake Madam Pomfrey at this hour, however he knew he'd never get to sleep without it. Maybe she would give him a large supply to keep in his office.

Harry walked into the ward, only to see that Madam Pomfrey was already up. She was tending to a girl in one of the end beds.

"Hello, Poppy," he whispered.

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey jumped, "You frightened me. I wasn't expecting you at this hour, Harry. You know, it's almost like you're a student again, coming in so late."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Harry glanced down at the girl, "Is she okay?"

"Yes, she'll be fine. Someone levitated her in her sleep. She screamed and that scared the student who did it to her, that student gave the countercurse, and she promptly fell onto the floor and broke her arm."

"Wow, doesn't take very long for things to get interesting around here," Harry said.

"Now, why are you here, Harry?"

"Well, er, remember after the battle and I had all those nightmares? They never completely stopped, and now they seem to be getting worse. I was wondering if I could have a sleeping draught. I'd also like to just have a supply of it on hand. I've never been much of a potion brewer and haven't attempted to make it myself. I just can never manage to get to sleep without one after one of these nightmares," Harry explained sheepishly. He felt like he was a kid again. How could he, the wizard who defeated Voldemort, who was known as the bravest wizard of the times, be afraid of a nightmare?

A sad gaze fell over Madam Pomfrey. "You know, this kind of reminds me of how you were so susceptible to the dementors in your third year. I know most people think you're brave and nothing frightens you, but everyone has nightmares and being frightened is nothing to be ashamed of." She walked over to a cabinet and came back with a large bottle filled with potion. "Here you go. Just come back to me whenever you need more." She handed him the bottle.

"Thanks," Harry replied, as he walked out of the Hospital Wing.

As he walked back towards his office, Harry thought about what Madam Pomfrey had said. He knew she was right, but he still couldn't help but feel weak whenever he had one of these nightmares. He just wished he knew why he was having them and what he could do to stop them.

******

When Albus awoke the next morning, Matt still hadn't returned from the Hospital Wing. John suggested that they go visit Matt before class, but since the two boys had gotten up late, they only had time to grab a quick bite to eat before heading to Potions in the dungeons.

"Good morning, class!" an old, round, professor greeted them, "I'm Professor Slughorn, your Potions Master. Today, we shall be learning about the basics of potion brewing, including the importance of proper stirring, heat, and ingredients. Please open your books to page 6."

The class opened their books and spent the whole lesson listening to Slughorn and copying down notes.

"Well, we're pretty much out of time, so I'll see you all next lesson. Could I have Albus Potter and Rose Weasley please stop by my desk on their way out?" Slughorn told the class.

"I'll see you in Transfiguration, John. Tell Professor Patil where I am," Albus told his friend. He had a feeling he knew what Slughorn wanted. James had warned him about it.

Albus and Rose walked cautiously up to Slughorn's desk after everyone else had left.

"Ah! Young Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley. Now, I would like to tell you about a little gathering I have scheduled for Friday. It's for the students in the school whose parents are, for lack of a better term, popular. Or those who have shown exceptional magical skill. Of course, I'd be pleased if the both of you would attend. I'm sure your cousins will be attending. They seemed to like them in the past years," Slughorn informed them.

"Well, er, I guess we could make it," Albus told Slughorn, while looking at Rose.

"Yes, we'll be there. See you next lesson, Professor," Rose told him, as the two of them left the dungeon.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before we were invited to the Slug Club," Albus groaned. James loved the Slug Club. It gave him a whole lot more attention and more people for him to tell his stories too. But Albus didn't like the fame. He would have rather skipped the party, but as James and his cousins were going, it would be hard not to.

"Well, maybe it'll be fun," Rose stated in a hopeful tone. Albus rolled his eyes and the two of them went to Transfiguration.

***********  
Matt didn't show up in classes all day. Albus and John were really starting to worry. They decided to visit him before dinner. When they got into the Hospital Wing, they didn't see Matt right away. There was one girl occupying a bed with her arm in a sling. Madam Pomfrey was fussing over her.

"I really think you need to stay here tonight. You can leave in the morning!"

"But, Madam Pomfrey, I've been here all day. My arm's fine!" the girl exclaimed.

"No, I will not have it! You can leave in the morning," Madam Pomfrey said in a tone that was not to be argued with. The girl pouted and stopped talking.

Albus and John approached Madam Pomfrey. "Um, where's Matt Eckerton? We brought him here last night," John said tentatively.

"He's back there," she said, pointing to a bed with the curtains pulled around it.

"Well, can we see him?" Albus asked.

"No, I'm sorry, but you can't. He's not in any state to have visitors at the moment. You can come see him this time tomorrow," Madam Pomfrey said hurriedly.

"But could you at least tell us if he's ok?" Albus asked.

"He'll be fine in a few days. Now, you two should head down to dinner. You can see Matt tomorrow."

Albus and John walked glumly down to the Great Hall. "That was strange. James said you can usually visit your friends when they're in the Hospital Wing," Albus told John.

"Very weird. You know, I think Matt's keeping something from us. Madam Pomfrey seemed like she was expecting him last night, and now no one can visit him," John told Albus in a worried tone.

"We'll ask him about it when he gets out of the Hospital Wing. I don't think he'll be inclined to tell us tomorrow," Albus reasoned.

*********

The next day, Gryffindor first years had DADA again. Nothing extraordinarily exciting happened during class. They mostly took notes on using Expeliarmus, the disarming spell. Harry said they would start being able to practice it on each other in the next class. John and Albus were really looking forward to this, as they really hadn't used their wands for anything yet.

Charms, however, was quite eventful. Professor Washburn started class by taking attendance as usual. He gave a menacing glare to all the Gryffindors as he called their names. But Albus thought he stared especially long at him.

"Take out your wands," snarled Wahsburn, "we're practicing levitation today. Everyone take a feather." Washburn waved his wand and a feather appeared in front of each student. "Remember to swish and flick."

"Swish and flick," murmured Albus from the back table. He waved his wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Nothing happened. He tried over and over again. Still, nothing happened. John, however, managed to do it.

"Look, Albus!" John exclaimed, "I've done it!" John's feather had rose a few inches off the table, and fell down again.

"Congratulations," Albus said flatly, his feather still remaining quite still on the table.

"I've done it, too!" Rose shouted. Her feather had also rose off the table, but it managed to make it a few feet in the air before falling.

Washburn stormed out from behind his desk and rounded on the back table, where Albus, John, Rose, and Amanda were sitting. "Well, do it again!" he growled.

John and Rose looked at him nervously and picked up their wands. "Wingardium Leviosa!" they said at the same time. Both their feathers rose feebly into the air and fell down again.

"Pathetic," Washburn muttered, "Potter! You do it!" he shouted at Albus.

"But, Professor, I haven't managed it yet," Albus muttered quietly.

"You'll do what I tell you to do! Perform the spell!" Washburn seemed to be getting angrier by the minute.

Albus nervously picked up his wand. His arm was shaking, this would not turn out good. "Wingardium Leviosa," he muttered very quietly. His feather leaped into the air and caught fire. The whole class, which had been staring at the back table for quite some time, screamed.

The flame from the feather caught onto Washburn's robes and set them on fire as well. "Bloody Hell!" Washburn screamed. He grabbed Albus's wand out of his hand and produced water from it to douse the flames. "Potter! You'll getting detention and 20 points from Gryffindor!" he shouted, glaring at Albus. "Class dismissed. Get out, all of you except Potter."

Albus was visibly shaking now. The rest of the class quickly left, the Gryffindors glancing anxiously at Albus. He walked slowly up to Washburn's desk.

"Well, you seem to have a knack for causing trouble, Potter," Wahsburn spat.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to," Albus muttered, on the verge of tears.

"You'll be doing detention tonight, I don't care what other plans you might have. See you at 8pm."

"But-"

Washburn cut him off. "I said tonight, now get out!" he screamed.

********

Later that night, Albus trudged his way back to the common room after doing detention with Washburn. He had Albus do lines, so it wasn't too bad. But Washburn stared at Albus the whole time, his eyes like fire.

Albus climbed through the portrait and saw just who he needed to talk to. "James, I've got to ask you something."

"What is it?" James asked, walking away from his friends.

"Why does Washburn hate me?" Albus asked. "During the first class, I thought he just hated all Gryffindors, but today he made it clear that it's me he hates."

"Really? It's well known he hates Gryffindors. But he's always seemed to hate me more than everyone else," James explained, "I always assumed it's because I cause so much trouble. You on the other hand, have always been so quiet. What did you do to him?"

Albus mumbled something incoherent.

"What?"

"I set him on fire."

James burst out laughing.

"It's not funny! I didn't mean to do it. We were doing levitation, and he asked me to levitate the feather in front of everyone, when he knew I hadn't managed to do it before. My arm was shaking so much I knew the spell wouldn't work. The feather caught fire as soon as I muttered the spell, and then it spread to Washburn's robes. I got lines and 20 points taken from Gryffindor," Albus looked down, ashamed.

James looked stunned. "But that's a mistake any first year could have made. I do see how he got mad, though. I think you should just try to avoid him. Sit in the back, don't say anything. Ignore him in the halls. That's what I do. I still get way more detentions from him than any other teacher, but I think I've become immune to them. Well, I'd better get back to my friends. See you later."

Albus contemplated this information. Washburn hated all Gryffindors, but he hated James and Albus the most. Why? It didn't make sense. Neither Albus nor James had met Washburn before Hogwarts.

"Albus!" John came running into the common room, "I've just been with Matt."

"How is he?" Albus asked.

"Not good. He's covered in cuts and bruises. Said he'd tripped on his way to the bathroom. He kept avoiding talking about being ill. Just wanted to talk about what's going on in the school. So I told him about you setting Washburn on fire. He thought it was hilarious."

"It's NOT!" Albus shouted. He was sick of everyone thinking it was funny. The story had already made it around the school and at dinner everyone was staring at him more than usual. Some students even high fived him and patted him on the back. It seemed like Washburn was disliked by many students.

"Okay, okay," John said, putting his hands up, "Anyway, Matt said he'd be back in class tomorrow morning. Madam Pomfrey just wanted him to stay the rest of the night."

"Good. Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted," Albus said. He and John climbed up the circular staircase to the dormitory.


	5. Chapter 5

Friday came too quickly for Albus's liking. He was not looking forward to the Slug Club meeting. Since the meeting and Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs were at the same time, James wouldn't be joining Albus at the meeting. Albus had tried to get out of the meeting by watching try-outs, but the team captain decided to not let any spectators at the try-outs. A large number of students had wanted to attend just to see James, and the captain didn't want anyone to disrupt the try-outs.

Later that day, Albus and Rose walked down to the dungeons together. Albus was dreading the meeting. They walked into the meeting to see that most everyone else was already there. Albus already knew most of them. Some of his cousins were there, along with various other Order members' children. However, there were a few faces Albus had never seen before.

"Ah! Albus and Rose!" Slughorn gestured to a few chairs in the room, "Please have a seat. You already know many of the people here. But I don't believe you know Tami Tobias, Frank Belleville, and Quinton Willinson?" he said, gesturing to a blond haired girl, a black haired boy, and a very sullen looking boy. "Tami is a 6th year Ravenclaw who brews the most excellent potions, Frank is a 4th year Hufflepuff who can already perform nonverbal spells! And Quinton's a 7th year Slytherin whose father works at the Minsitry."

"Er, hi," Albus responded.

"Hello," Rose smiled.

Unfortunately for Albus; Tami and Frank, along with Slughorn, spent much of the meeting hounding Albus with questions about his dad, the battle, and Albus's childhood. Eventually, Albus just got fed up with it.

"Look, my dad's told you all he wants to tell you. You're not going to learn anything else from asking me!" Albus shouted.

Slughorn looked taken aback. "I thought you'd enjoyed talking about it. Your brother always enjoys telling stories about his childhood."

"Well, I'm not James, now, am I?" Albus shouted. Everyone else was now staring at him. Albus jumped up from his chair and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

Albus stamped his feet the whole way up to the common room. He went through the portrait and was immediately bombarded by James.

"Albus! I got it! I'm the new Seeker!" James shouted over the noise, jumping up and down and spilling his butterbeer all over the floor.

"That's great, James, really great," Albus told him, trying to sound somewhat excited.

"What? You're not happy for me? I thought you would be. Dad's ecstatic. I told him as soon as I was done at tryouts," James said tentatively.

"No, I am excited," Albus responded glumly. All he wanted to do was go to bed, but James blocked his path.

"What's wrong? I can tell something's wrong. Tell me," James said, in a voice that sounded strangely like their mother's.

"It's the Slug Club. I just left. All anyone wanted to do was listen to me blabber on about my childhood," Albus shouted, all the anger coming back in full force. "They wouldn't stop bothering me until I screamed at them and stormed out."

James just stared at Albus. "And to top it all off, Slughorn said he thought I'd LIKE talking about all that, just because you do!" Albus screamed at James and punched the nearest armchair.

"Boy, you do have Dad's temper," James told Albus, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I'll be there at all the others. I swear. Well, unless there's Quidditch practice."

"Others?! You really think I'm going to another one of those?" Albus shouted disgustedly.

"Well, Slughorn has them all throughout the year. Sometimes they're kind of fun. You know Dad used to go to them."

"Fun?! Fun?! How could that possibly be fun? And I know Dad used to go to them, he didn't exactly enjoy them, now did he?" Albus seethed.

"Yeah, some of them are fun," James shifted from foot to foot. Albus could tell he was nervous.

"Just go back to your party. You deserve it. Good job at making Seeker, I really do mean that. But I think I'm going to bed. Good night."

"'Night," James said as he rejoined his party.

Albus walked up to his dormitory. It was still relatively early, so Albus was surprised to see Matt there. Matt had returned at breakfast yesterday morning, but he still didn't seem himself, so John and Albus did not bring up the question of him being ill.

Albus went over to Matt's bed and pulled back the curtains. He was sound asleep. That was strange. He just spent 2 days in the Hospital Wing, why was he still tired? Was he still sick? Albus sighed, he wouldn't be able to question Matt tonight. Well, turning in early would do Albus some good too. Maybe he'd be able to calm down after the evening's excitement. He got into his pajamas and got into bed.

********  
Unfortunately, Albus did not have a restful sleep. He was having vivid nightmares which involved Slughorn questioning him while James stood behind him, laughing. This same image kept recurring over and over again. Albus tossed and turned and eventually, a new dream came over him.  
_  
Albus was sitting in a dark empty room. A man in a dark cloak appeared next to him._

"He will return," the man said.

"What?" Albus asked. "Who's returning?"

"He's coming. He'll find a way. He will return."

"Tell me! Who?" Albus shouted.

"He will return, he will return, he will return..." the man said over and over again.

Albus awoke with a start. He was sweating. What was that about? He had never had such a vivid dream. Who was going to return? Albus raked his brains, and then it hit him. It felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Of course! He jumped out of bed and put on his dressing robes. It must be late, he thought. Matt, John, Ethan, and Bilius were still sleeping. Albus tip-toed out of dormitory and carefully shut the door behind him.

Albus had to see his dad. He didn't care that it was the middle of the night. He ran out of the common room and into the empty corridor. It was strange wandering around this late. Albus had never walked around the castle at night. He didn't care that he wasn't supposed to be out of his dormitory this late. All he thought about was telling his dad about that dream. Albus ran down the stairs, probably making too much noise. As he rounded the corner, someone reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Albus screamed.

"Shut up!" a man shouted, "You'll wake the whole school. Then we'll have a real problem."

Albus looked into the eyes of the man who had caught him. It was Professor Washburn.

"Well, well, Mr. Potter is out of bed. And this late at night? Surely, he must be up to no good," Washburn sneered. Albus heard the happiness in his tone. "We'd better be off to my office, shall we?"

Albus stood where he was. "No, I have to see my dad."

"Running to Daddy, are we? Isn't that sweet. Unfortunately for you, wandering corridors at night is against the rules, therefore, I will punish you."

Washburn grabbed Albus's hand and dragged him to his office. Albus was really shaking now. What would Washburn do to him?

When they entered Washburn's dark office, he forced Albus into a chair directly in front of his desk.

Washburn slammed his hands on his desk. "So, decided to have a little midnight stroll? Care to tell me what you were up to?" he glared at Albus, not blinking.

"I've already told you. I need to see my dad," Albus told him, nervously.

"Surely that could wait till morning? I bet you were setting up some kind of prank. Am I right? You know, I've caught your brother out of bed many a time for just that reason."

So that was it. Washburn hated James, so he in turn hated Albus too. That was the second time in the past 12 hours that Albus had been compared to James. "I am NOT like my brother!" he stood up, fists clenched and stared at Washburn.

Washburn smiled. "I seem to have struck a nerve. But it hardly matters what you were doing out of bed. The fact remains that students are not to be out of bed at," he glanced at his watch, "1:37 in the morning. Now, to discuss your punishment."

"You can discuss my punishment after I see my dad," Albus glared at Washburn.

"Sit back down, Potter. I know you're just trying to get dear old Dad to save you."

Albus remained standing. "I AM NOT!" he screamed, "I have something really important to discuss with him!"

"Fine, but I'll take you to see him, so I can make sure you're punished," Washburn spat.

Albus didn't say another word and ran out the door.

"Wait! Get back here, boy! I told you I'm taking you!" Washburn ran to catch up with Albus, breathing heavily. He was clearly out of shape. The two of them walked to Harry's office in complete silence.

"Well, here we are," Washburn stated, pushing Albus aside and opening the door. "Potter! Wake up! I caught your son out of bed."

Harry quickly walked out of his bedroom. He had also been up after having a nightmare of his own. Harry looked at Albus and Washburn and jumped. "Sorry, I expected it to be James."

"So did I. He insists that he discuss something with you before I punish him," Washburn told Harry in a disgruntled voice.

Harry looked worriedly at Albus. "What is it? Are you okay, Al?"

"I just need to tell you something..." Albus replied, looking warily at Washburn.

"I must ask you to leave, Professor Washburn. I think this needs to be private."

"Fine! I'll wait outside the door, but he will be punished!" Washburn yelled as he walked out the door and slammed it behind him.

As soon as he left, Albus relayed his whole dream to Harry.

Harry pulled Albus into a hug and told him, "Albus, I don't think your nightmare had any kind of significance. It was just a bad dream."

"But, it seemed so real! And you had dreams like this when you were younger, and they were real!"

"Yes, that's because I could see Voldemort's thoughts. You know that. I think that hearing so much about the battle over and over again this week and being bombarded with questions about it has caused you to be worried," Harry explained. "I understand your fears. I still have nightmares about it. But I think the best thing for you to do is just forget about it."

"But, what if it is real?" Albus asked in a worried tone.

"Think about it, Al. How could he come back? He's dead. Even in the Wizarding world, no one can come back from the dead."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. It was just so vivid and scary."

"I know. Now I only hope that as you spend more time at Hogwarts, people will stop asking you so many questions. For tonight, I think you should have some Sleeping Draught," Harry walked over to his cabinet and poured a potion into a small bottle. I'll take you back to Gryffindor Tower, and drink this before you get into bed."

"But what about detention?"

"Don't worry. You won't get detention. But wandering the corridors is against the rules, so please don't do it anymore. Just send word with a portrait from the common room if you need me, and I'll meet you in the common room. Now, let's get you back to bed. Just follow me and don't say anything. I'll deal with Washburn."

Harry opened the door and left the room. Albus followed. "There will be no detention tonight, Professor Washburn. Albus really did need to tell me something that was worrying him. It's perfectly understandable what he did. I've talked to him and he won't do it again," Harry explained calmly.

"But, he broke the rules!" Washburn screamed.

"Careful, you'll wake the whole castle," Harry told him as he continued to walk down the halls with Albus following quickly behind.

They left Washburn standing with his mouth open in the hallway. When Albus got back to his bed, he took his potion and had a dreamless, restful sleep.

******

As the weeks past, people slowly got over the excitement of having Harry as a DADA teacher. Harry had explained the battle to every single one of his classes, and in the following classes he was able to teach without being disrupted with questions pertaining to the downfall of Voldemort. Harry was grateful for this. He was still having his nightmare more often than usual, but thanks to Madam Pomfrey's potion, he was able to get a few decent night's sleep a week.

Things seemed to be calming down for Albus too. There had not been anymore Slug Club meetings since the disastrous first one, but Albus had no intention of going to one even if he got invited. His classes were going well. He seemed to struggle the most in Charms, but that was to be expected. At least Albus now knew why Washburn hated him so much, it was because he hated James. As much as Albus hated being compared to James, it was nice to know it wasn't anything Albus did to irritate Washburn. Unfortunately, Albus was earning a detention a week in his class.

Matt seemed to recover from his illness within a few days. However, as September grew into October, and the weather started getting colder, Matt got sick again.

Albus, John, Matt, Bilius, Ethan, Rose, Janie, Amanda, Karina, and Marina sat together at one table in the common room after dinner one Wednesday. They were working on a particularly hard Transfiguration essay.

"No, you've got that wrong," Rose told Albus.

"Well, why don't you tell me what the right answer is, then?" Albus said disgustedly.

"But then you won't learn anything!"

"You're just like your mother," Albus told him, shaking his head. "Matt, what's wrong?"

Matt had put his head down on his parchment, he had only written the first sentence of his essay.

"Huh?" he said, lifting up his head. He glanced out the window. "I'm not feeling too good. I think I might be sick."

"Again? You do look a bit pale," Amanda told him with a worried look on her face. "You better go to the Hospital Wing.

"All right. I'll see you guys later," Matt slowly got up from his chair and shuffled out of the common room. "You guys don't have to come," he said to Albus and John, who had gotten up.

Albus looked at him warily. "If you're sure." But Matt had already left the common room.

"I hope he's all right. That's the second time he's been sick here and it's only October," John said.

"Yeah, I know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long he spends in the Hospital Wing this time," Albus told him.

"Well, I'm never going to get this done!" Janie shouted, exhaustedly. "I'm going to bed," she got up and left, the other 4 girls following her.

"We'd better turn in, too," Bilius told the other boys.

"Yeah, probably," Albus agreed. The three boys walked up the circular staircase and got into bed.

*********

Matt didn't get out of the Hospital Wing until Saturday. Although, he spent most of that day sleeping in his four poster bed. His friends weren't all that surprised, since this exact same thing had happened during his previous illness. They gave him his space until classes started again on Monday.

Albus had started to dread Potions class. He was always afraid that Slughorn was going to bring up what happened in the previous Slug Club meeting. Unfortunately for Albus, after double potions that week, Slughorn called Rose and him up to his desk after class.

"See you in Transfiguration, then, Albus," John told him as he and Matt started to walk out of the room.

"No, stay, please," Albus hissed at them, "He won't talk about what happened last time if you're here."

"All right," John sighed and dropped his bag on the nearest desk.

"Rose and Albus! I just wanted to invite you to my next get together. It's happening on Halloween. It'll be a kind of Halloween party. You can each bring a guest," Slughorn said, delightedly.

"Cool!" John shouted, running to the front of the room, "Bring me, Albus!"

"No, bring me!" Matt said louder, pushing past John.

"Don't worry, boys, you can both come, all right?" Slughorn told them with a smile on his face.

"But, but-" Albus stammered, staring at John and Matt.

"Well, off you go, don't want to be late for your next class!" Slughorn shooed them out of his classroom.

"John! Matt! Why did you do that?" Albus shouted, once Slughorn was back in his room.

"What? I wanted to see what all the fuss is about with those meetings," John said innocently.

"Ugh! Now I have to go!" Albus threw his hands up in the air, "You knew I didn't want to go to anymore."

"Well, we'll be with you, it'll be all right," Matt said sympathetically.

*********

Before Albus knew it, he, Matt, and John were trudging down to the dungeons for the Halloween party. John and Matt were running along excitedly, while Albus lagged behind. They walked into the dungeon, to find it packed.

"Good, maybe no one will notice me," Albus said as he gazed around at the crowd. The same members who were at the last meeting were there, along with their guests and numerous adults. "Let's go get some food."

The three boys walked through the crowd and over to the food table. They each piled a plate high with food. When Albus turned around, he almost ran into someone.

"Watch it!" the boy shouted, he was a rather large Slytherin. The boy looked at Albus and then sneered. "Ah, Potter, can I ask you a few questions about your childhood? Or will that make baby Potter cry?"

"Shut it," Albus muttered, trying to push past the boy.

"Trying to run away, are we? Well, that won't do. I thought you'd enjoy talking about yourself. I certainly enjoy talking about me. So, I'll talk. I'm Quinton Willinson." Albus glanced at him again and now recognized him as the Slytherin that Slughorn introduced him to at the previous meeting.

John snorted into his pumpkin juice.

"You think that's funny? Who are you?" Quinton glared at John.

"John Brickston. Pleased to meet you. This is Matt Eckerton," he gestured towards Matt.

"Enough about you, more about me. My father high up at the Ministry. He does a variety of tasks and makes a load of gold from it. I'm a 7th year. Father's getting me a Ministry job once I'm done here. I can't wait until I get out of here and make gold like he does," Quinton stole a cookie off of Albus's plate and started to eat it.

"So," he said in between bites, "What was it like growing up with 'The Chosen One'?

"I said, shut it!" Albus said, a bit louder.

"Oh, are we going to have a repeat of last meeting?" Quinton asked excitedly, stealing another cookie.

"Definitely not," shouted John, who drew his wand, "After this one, you'll wish you'd never been born." Matt quickly drew his own wand.

"No, guys, it's okay, don't get in trouble for him, he's not worth it," Albus told them.

"Gonna curse me, ickle firsties?" Quinton giggled, "I'm so scared."

"What's going on over here?" James asked as he walked over to the food table, "What do you want, Willinson?"

"Just thought I'd ask Albus about his life growing up," Quinton told James innocently.

"Well, I think he said to stop, didn't he?" James said, drawing his own wand.

"He might've mentioned it," Quinton sneered as he, too, drew his wand, "But I don't see what's so wrong about wanting to know about 'The Chosen One'. Maybe you could tell me how he managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time?"

"Expeliarmus!" James shouted, and Quinton's wand flew across the room.

Slughorn looked up at the shouting and hustled over to see what had happened. "You cannot duel at my party!"

"They started it," Quinton said, pointing to Albus and his friends, "Little Potter had to have his big brother defend him."

"Well, you'll all put your wands away now so we can enjoy the rest of the party in peace. Or you'll all get detention," Slughorn growled as the boys all hastily put their wands away.

Quinton gave Albus one last sneer and he stalked off. Albus watched him go and turned and ran out of the room. He heard his friends following him, but didn't stop to talk. He didn't stop or turn around until he reached the Fat Lady's portrait. He gave the password and ran into the common room and up to his dormitory.

Albus knew going to that party was a bad idea. He shouldn't have gone. Never again. He punched his pillow. What did Quinton want with him anyway. And why did he call Voldemort 'the greatest wizard of all time'? Voldemort was defeated before Quinton was even born, he couldn't possibly have been a Death Eater.

The door to the dormitory opened and Matt and John walked in. "You okay?" Matt asked.

"Oh, I'm just fine," Albus told them sarcastically, "I'm never going to one of those again, even if you two want to go as my guests. You saw what it's like now, not much fun, is it?"

"Yeah, not that much fun, although wasn't that cool how James disarmed Willinson?" John said excitedly. "I mean, he's 5 years younger than him!"

"Real cool," Albus said flatly, "I think I just want to go to bed." Albus pulled the hangings of his bed closed and laid down. He fell asleep relatively quickly, but it wasn't a restful sleep. He had the nightmare again. It happened a few times a week now, and try as he might, Albus couldn't seem to forget about it.


End file.
